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Arid Land Geography ›› 2022, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (1): 185-196.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000–6060.2021.012

• Biology and Pedology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Salinity characteristics and halophytic vegetation diversity of uncultivated saline-alkali soil in Junggar Basin, Xinjiang

LIANG Meng1,2,3(),MI Xiaojun1,2,3,LI Chenhua1,2,ZHAO Jin1,2,WANG Yugang1,2,MA Jian1,2,Hu Jiangling4,5()   

  1. 1. State Key laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
    2. Fukang National Station of Desert Ecosystem Observation and Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fukang 831505, Xinjiang, China
    3. University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100049, China
    4. School of Geographic Science and Tourism,Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi 830054, Xinjiang, China
    5. Research Center of Silk Road Economic Belt Urban Development, Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi 830054, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2021-01-07 Revised:2021-04-02 Online:2022-01-25 Published:2022-01-21
  • Contact: Jiangling Hu E-mail:liangmeng18@mails.ucas.ac.cn;hujiangling@xjnu.edu.cn

Abstract:

Researchers are increasingly paying attention to soil salinization, which is one of the most serious ecological problems in arid areas. Soil salinization worldwide is expected to increase by more than 50% by 2050. The area of soil salinization in Xinjiang of China is 1336.4×104 hm2. The uncultivated saline-alkali soil area in the Junggar Basin accounts for 27% of the saline soil area in Xinjiang. This paper selected the Junggar Basin as the study area. Soil salinity, pH, EC value, eight ions, and other indexes were measured. Multivariate statistics and principal component analysis were adopted to study the distribution characteristics of saline-alkali soil and the diversity of halophytic vegetation in this area. The characteristics of salt and base ions in different soil layers were analyzed by multivariate statistics. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between soil salinity and base ions. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to study the main soil factors affecting the distribution of dominant species in halophytic vegetation. The results showed that: (1) the study area was primarily composed of sulfate-chloride and sulfate soils. In Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture and Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, moderate and severe sulfate-chloride and sulfate soils were distributed in the form of a chain or strip. Soda saline soil and soda alkaline soils were primarily distributed in point form in the Altay Prefecture. (2) Dilute salt vegetation, such as Haloxylon ammodendron and Petrosimonia sibirica, is dominant in Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture. Salt-bearing vegetation, such as Reaumuria songarica and Alhagi sparsifolia, is dominant in Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture. (3) The quadratic polynomial expresses the relationship between soil salinity and vegetation diversity. The Shannon-Wiener index, Hurlbert index, and Pielou evenness index reached their maximum value when the soil salinity was 5-10 mg·g-1. Halophytic vegetation species were abundant and evenly distributed within the pH range of 8.4 to 9.2. (4) PCA analysis of dominant halophyte species and soil properties showed that soil salinity is the key factor affecting the distribution of Reaumuria songarica, Haloxylon ammodendron, Salsola collina, and Tamarix chinensis, whereas. Suaeda acuminata and Nitraria tangutorum were primarily affected by soil pH and CO32-. This study will provide theoretical support for the rational utilization of uncultivated land resources and ecological restoration.

Key words: uncultivated saline-alkali soil, salinity, halophytic vegetation diversity, Junggar Basin